Misiones offers reward for info about Germán Kiczka, fugitive lawmaker accused of child porn offences

Misiones Province government has announced a five-million-peso reward for anyone who can provide reliable information on the whereabouts of fugitive former provincial deputy Germán Kiczka.

The 44-year-old Activar ex-lawmaker and his brother Sebastián Kiczka are currently on the run from police. An international arrest warrant has been issued for their arrest for child pornography and paedophilia.

The duo are accused of a host of offences, including the “possession, consumption and distribution of material [featuring] child sexual abuse" and being linked to a paedophilia network.

The reward was announced by Misiones Province Governor Hugo Passalacqua, who called on his X account for citizens to call the emergency services if they have information.

“With the backing and willingness of such international organisations as Interpol ... I have decided to offer a five-million-peso reward for those who can provide exact data on the runaways’ whereabouts,” said the Partido de la Concordia Social politician.

Interpol formally issued a red alert for the Kiczka brothers on Monday. It is speculated that they may have crossed over the border into Brazil or Paraguay.

The ex-lawmaker has been charged with the possession and distribution of material involving the sexual exploitation of minors. According to the investigation, Kiczka allegedly downloaded nearly 600 pornographic files involving children and adolescents.

Kiczka was expelled by the provincial legislature last Thursday in a majority vote for which he was not present.

The Activar politician is seriously implicated in the ongoing investigation, which was sparked by an alert by the US organisation ICMEC (International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children), which warned it had detected a paedophilia network in Misiones.

Paula Wachter, director of Red de Infancia NGO, said in a radio interview on Tuesday that the US organisation had put the spotlight on the Activar deputy.

“Organised crime networks transcend all sectors. They have people in key posts,” Wachter told a radio station in Misiones.

The expert told FM 89.3 Santa María de las Misiones that Kiczka’s involvement on social networks was essential,

This family network exploiting children groomed them online via a YouTube channel [featuring] magic tricks to seduce them.”

“This is further proof, not of improvisation, but of the impunity power affords,” she added.

Meanwhile, the search for the fugitive deputy continues. On Tuesday, the Tupa hotel in Puerto Iguazú denied in a statement that it had lodged the deputy before he went on the run despite recent press reports.

Kiczka had stayed at the establishment before, said the hotel’s director, but on January 4 this year – months before he disappeared.

“We hereby inform that the news that has been made public is false and outdated. This person stayed here on January 4, 2024 and we submitted that information to the police, together with the passenger log. It is worth noting that ever since he has not stayed here,” read the release.

– TIMES/NA